Internal-combustion engine



P. M. FREER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. I916.

1,331,749. Patented Feb. 24,1920.

6 SHEETS-SHEET l- P. M. FREER.

i-NTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, I916- 1,33 1,749. Patented Feb. 24:, 1920.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Jizmzzzar flatw- P. M. FREER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5.49m.

1,33 1,749. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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-P. MLFREER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, I916. 1,331,749. Patented Feb. 2L192u 6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. I916.

Patented Feb. 24,1920.

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rv/a2 l P. M. FREER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION men MAY 5. 1916.

1,331,749. Patented Feb. 24,1920.

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orrr inn STATES PATENT oFmoE.

PHELPS M. FREEZE, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

Y INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1916.v Serial No. 95,540.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, PHnLrs M. Fianna/a citizen of the United States, residin at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and tate of Michigan, have invented a certain neW and useful Improvement in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an internal combustion engine of the type wherein the cylinders which carry the reciprocating pistons rotate.

The object of the invention is to provide such an internal combustion engine wherein imparted to the crank shaft vation of the engine; 2 is a sectionalelevation of the englne; is a side elevation of a portion of the englne; Fig. 4 1s a sectional elevation of the engine; Flg. 5 is another sectional elevation of the engine; Fig. 6 is an elevation partly in section of the crank shaft; Fig. 7 is an elevation with portions in section showing on an enlarged scale the arrangement of the cylinders, piston rods and crankshaft; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the cylinder packing ring; Fig.9 is a section on the line XX of Fig. 3 Fig. 10 is a section on the line Y-Y of Fig. 3; Fig. 11 is a sectionon the line ZZ of Fig. 3; Fig. 12 is a section on the line VV of Fig. 3; Fig. 13 is a section on the line WW of Fig. 3; Fig. 14 is a section on the line 0-0 of Fig. 3.

The engine forming the subject matter of this invention comprises a stator member and a rotor member. The stator member may be mounted upon some suitable base which is not here shown, as it forms no part of the invention. A rotor is mounted within the stator, the statorbeing constructed in a suitable manner to permit the rotor to rotate shaft extends and has a bearing seat.

portion 8 is formed with an inwardfilyjexa the lower portion of within it. In the type of engine here shown an internal wall of the stator forms a closure for the ends of the cylinders and the'stator is provided with suitable passageways which conduct the fluid fuel to the cylinders at Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

proper times and conduict away the exhausted gases at proper' intervals.

The stator member is made up of an an nular, portion 2, the inner side of which forms a cylindrical surface. This is the surface with which the outer end of the cylinders cooperate.- This member 2 cooperates with a member 3 to which it fits and is secured, the member 3 comprising an annular portion which cooperates with the annular member 2 and a central hub portion 4 which is connectedby suitable spokes 5 to the part 3. The hub portion 4 forms a bearing for one part of the crank shaft, and

upon the outer surface of the part 4 one part 0 the rotor is rotatably mounted. For this purpose, the portion 4 is provided with an inwardly extending sleeve4.

\Upon the other side of the member 2 there is a side member provided with an annular portion 6 which cooperates with the annularmember 2. The annular member 6 is joined to the central portion ofthis side member by spokes 7. The central portion of the side member just mentioned is formed with a bearing portion as indicated at 8, through which bearing portion the crank tending sleeve, upon the outer portion'of which part of the rotor is mounted, so that .it may rotate.

. Cooperating with the central portion of the side member is a cover portion 10, this cover portion being secured to the central.

portion in any suitable manner, as by bolts 11.

there is a fitting 12, which forms a part of the side member, this fitting forming with the side member a chamber, the purpose of which will be later The.

described. Cooperating with the fittin 12 and the side member is member 13 w ich forms a part of the lubricating system for the engine, as will be later described.

Within the stator ismounted the rotor' which comprises a central member indicated at 15. This member is formed with six sides, as will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 5. In this member are mounted the cylinders. There are two sets of cyl inders, three cylinders forming a set. The

' three pistons forming one set are staggered dicated in Fig. 2. The cylinder 16 is prov to each other 120.

not upon the crank shaft.

with respect to the three pistons forming the other set, and each set of pistons lies in a different plane.

As will be seen in Fig. 1, the cylinders are so arranged that the axis of each cylinder is angularly displaced 60 with respect to each adjacent cylinder. The cylinders in each group are displaced angularly with respect The cylinders of one group are indicated at 16, 16, and 16 while the cylinders of the other group are indicated at 17, 17 and 17". Each of the cylinders is secured in an opening formed in the member 15. This opening for the cylinder 16 is indicated at 18 in Fig. 2, the cylinder 16 being formed with the recess portion adjacent the inner part of the cylinder which cooperates with a collar 19, whichin turn is threaded into the opening 18 of the cylinder 15. Each of the cylinders cooperates with the member 15 in a manner similar to that just described.

Cooperating with the inner surface of the member 2 is a cylindrical member 20. This .member forms a nice fit within the member 2 and is provided with openings into which extend the outer end of each cylinder, as 1nvided with an outwardly extending portion 21'v which fits within an opening formed in the member 2. This member 2 forms a closure for the intake and outlet ports which are arranged upon the inner surface of the member 2, except at such times as when in the course of rotation of the cylinders, the various cylinders are brought into juxtaposition with the s id inlet and outlet ports.

At one end of the member 15 there is secured a member 23 which houses an outer ring 24 of a ball bearing. The inner ring is shown at 25 and rests upon the sleeve 4 which forms a part of the central portion 4 of one end of the stator. The bearing rings are held in-place by a suitable ring 26, which is threaded within the member 23.

At the opposite end, the stator isprovided with a member 27 which'receives the outer ring of a ball bearing, the inner ring of which is carried upon the inwardly extending sleeve of the part 8, as indicated in Fig. 2. It will thus be seen that the opposite ends of the rotor are mounted upon the stator and Between the members 27 and 23 of the rotor and the parts of the stator which are adjacent thereto, there are suitable packing rings, such as indicated at 28 and shown in Fig. 2.

' Each of the cylinders has a suitable piston operating therein and is shown in Fig. 2 and the piston for cylinder 16 as indicated at 29. This piston cooperates with a piston rod 30 which in turn cooperates with the crank pin 31 of a crank shaft generally represented at 32.

The crank shaft 32 has two bearing portions 32 and 32 which. cooperate with the sleeve like portions of the parts 4: and 8 of the stator. It will thus be seen that the crank shaft is mounted for rotation inde pendently of the rotor.

The rotor and crank shaft are connected by suitable gearing. This is shown in Fig. 2 and it will be seen that there is a gear 35 which is mounted upon the rotor. This gear is mounted upon the member 27. This gear cooperates with a gear 36 carried upon a shaft 37 that finds bearing at one end of the stator and at its opposite end in the cover 10. Upon this shaft, there is a gear 38 and in the instance shown, the two gears are formed on a common hub. The gear 38 meshes with a gear 39, which is carried upon a short shaft 40, this shaft finding bearing at one end in a portion of the end of the stator. The gear 39 meshes with a gear 11 which is carried upon the crank shaft 32 and is secured thereto. The gears forming this train of gearing are so proportioned that the crank shaft makes three revolutions for every complete revolution of the stator.

Upon the crank shaft 32, there is mounted fly-wheel 43, the peripheral portion of the fly-wheel being secured to the central hub portion which is carried upon the shaft 32 by means of spokes that are spaced apart.

Upon the upper part of the fly-wheel there are fan blades which are generally represented at' A. There is a casing 4.5 which incloses the fly-wheel, this casing having a, central sleeve portion 46,which sleeves over' a portion of the hub of the fly-wheel. The casing completely incloses the fly-wheel and. at its outer edge cooperates with the stator. The casing 45 is provided with a number of openings such as indicated at 17 The action of the fans carried by the fly-Wheel is to draw air through the stator and around the cylinders forming the rotor and eXpels the same through the openings in the casing 45. In this way the engine is cooled.

At the lower part of the stator there extends transversely of the central portion of the stator, a tube 50. This tube is provided with openings, which communicate with openings 51 formed in the stator and these openings in turn connect with the inner surface of the stator and convey eXoess lubricant from the engaging surface of the'stator and rotor. The pipe 50 communicates with a channel 52, which in turn communicates with a chamber 53 formed in the member 13.

Communicating with the chamber 53 is a port 54 which opens into a chamber 55. This chamber is enlarged at its upper portion as indicated at 56, the chambers 55 and 56 receiving a double headed piston 57 This piston has a rod 58 which is mounted upon a shaft 59, the shaft 59 being driven from the moving part of the engine. The portion 56 communicates with a passage way 60 which in turn communicates with a pipe 61 that leads to a source of lubricating fluid which is not shown.

The engaging surfaces of the stator and the cylindrical member are supplied with lubricant by means of a tube shown at 62 in Fig. 15. This tube extends transversely of the stator through the opening indicated at 64 in Figs.4 and 5. The tube 62' by means of small openings 65 communicates with the inner surface ofthe stator and supplies lubricant thereto in desired quantities. The tube to the desired storage source.

62 may be supplied from any desired source of lubricant.

The small openings 65 formed in the inner wall of the stator are arranged in groups, which groups are so placed that they do not open into t e tops of the cylinders as they rotate. The same is true of the openings 51 which communicate with the pipe as shown in Fig. 13. These latter openings 51 collect the excess oil as-it flows and it gathers in the pipe 50 from whence it flows into the chamber 53 and then it is taken by the pumping mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2 and pumped The crank shaft 32 is provided with two crank pins, one of which has been designated at, 31 and the-other of which is designated at 31. The crank pin 31 is joined to the crank shaft by means of an arm 31. The crank pins are joined to each. other by means of an arm 31-. The crank pins are displaced angularlywith respect to-each other and the angular distance between the wrist pins being substantially 60 degrees, as. will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 7.

The arms 31 and 31 are adapted to carry counterweights such as indicated at 31 for the purpose of counterbalancing thecrank pins and thearms themselves.

Each of he'piston rods taking as a sample that represented at 30 and referring more especially to Fig. 7, is provided with ametal bearing portion 30. This engages with a bushing 30", which is free to turn upon the crank. The angular length of the portion 30 is substantially 88 degrees and each of the other piston rods are similarly formed. This construction allows relative movement between the shoulder portions 30" of each of the piston rods as they move relatively to each other during the operation of the engine. The particular angular length represented at 30, these retaining rings being split and secured together as indicated in Fig. 6. I

It will be understood that the piston .rods

which cotiperate with the crank pin 31 are similarly formed and operate in a similar manner.

The inner wall of the stator is provided with inlet ports and with exhaust ports and there are two sets of such ports, one of the sets coiiperating with the cylinders 16, 16 and-16", while the other set of ports 00- operate with the cylinders 17, 17 and 17".

.The ports of each set are symmetrically arlonged sufliciently to enable its functioning,

either when exhausting or intaking, to be completed.

. In Fig. 5, such a section is taken throu h the stator as shows the ports with which t ,e cylinders 16, 16 and 16" in turn cotiperate. The port is an outlet port'; the port 71is an inlet port; the port 72 is an exhaust port and the port 73 is an intake port. Similarly on Fig. 4 the port 74 is an exhaust port; port 75 is an inlet port; port 76 is an exhaust port and port 77 is an inlet port. It will thus be seen that each cylinder in the course of a single revolution coiiperates With two inlet ports and two outlet ports.

arrow, it will next come opposite the port 71 which is an intake port. As the cylinder is thus moving the piston is beginning to .reciprocate inwardly so that as the cylinder moves past the port 71, the piston moves into its innermost position and as the piston moves just beyond the port 71, the charge is com ressed, for at that time, the end of the cyllnder 16 is closed by the pIortion 2* on the inner wall of the stator. he gaseous fuel is com ressedduring its passage from the end of t e port 71 to the-spark plug, the position of which is indicated by the threaded receiving hole indicated at 79. At this point the charge is fired and the expansion of the gas takes place, while the cylinder is passin from the spark plug 79 to the beginning 0 the opening of the port 72. The charge of the cylinder will be exhausted through the port 72 and from thence the cylinder passes to the port 7 3' where a fresh charge of fuel is drawn in by the piston as'it moves toward the inner end of the cylinder. The charge in the cylinder is compressed during the passage of the cylinder between the end of the port 73 and a spark plug, the position. of which is indicated at 80. At the point 60, the charge is fired and the gas can pands within the cylinder pushing the piston therein toward the inner end of the cylinder until the cylinder begins to communicate a second time with the port 70, at which point it exhausts.

When the cylinder 16 is about completing where its charge will be fired, cylinder 16.

will have moved to a position opposite discharge port 70, and cylinder 16 will be opposite intake port 71, and cylinder 16' will be opposite intake port 73. In the next 60 of revolution cylinder 16 will come opposite exhaust port 7 2, cylinder 16 will come opposite intake port 71 and cylinder 16 will. be

opposite a spark plug located at 80 where its charge will be tired. The remaining movements to complete a revolution of the cylinders 16, 16*, 16, from'and back to the position shown in Fig. 5v will be readily understood.

Each of the three cylinders of the group 16, 16 and 16 will thus fire twice in a single revolution.

It will be seen that one of the cylinders in I, the group just mentioned will fire every 60 of revolution, or there will be six impulses given the crank shaft in a complete revolution'of the cylinders.

The cylinders 17, 17 and 17 b will operate in precisely the same manner as the group of cylinders just described, and will also impart six impulses to the crank shaft in a revolution of the stator. i

This .group of cylinders will cooperate with spark plugs located in openings 81 and 82 which plugs are spaced 30 from the spark plug openings 79 and 80. It will be *also noted that the various intake'and exhaust ports which cooperate with this group of cylinders are displaced 30 with respect to the similar exhaust and intake openings which cooperate with the cylinders l6, l6 and 16*. v

The cylinders of the two groups are staggered and are spaced apart 60 from each other. Therefore, when the cylinders of each group will give an impulse to the crank shaft every 60 of revolution of therotor, the two sets of cylinders, their spark plugs, and exhaust and intake ports hein arranged as before stated, will result in giving an impulse to the crank shaft every 30 of revolution of the rotor, or 12 impulses for every revolution of the rotor.

The order of firing of the cylinders is as follows: We will assume that the cylinder 17 will. first fire, then next the cylinder 16 wilicfire, then the cylinder 17", then the cylinder 16, then. the cylinder 17 and then the cylinder 16".

Thus in this engine having six cylinders the same effect is obtained. so far as impulses delivered to the crank shaft is concerned, as with the usual 8 cylinder 4 cycle engine.

The central portion 2 of the stator is provided with passage ways which communicate with the various ports which have been mentioned. Turning to Fig. the passage way 77 communicates with a passageway 83, which passage way in turn communicates with an opening 84. The port 7 5 communicates with a passage way 85, which in turn communicates with an intake 86. These in-- takes 84 and 86 open in the form of heads 87 and 88, which may be separately supplied with fuel or they may receive the ends of a manifold 89, which is provided with a portion 90 that is connected to a suitable source of gasi fied fuel such as a carbureter or other fuel gasifying device.

The port 73 of Fig. 5 communicates with a passage way 91, which is in reality a part of the passage way 83, the difierence merely being that the port 73 is displaced angularly with respect to the port 77, and, of course, the two ports are not in line with each'other,

inasmuch as one communicates with one set of cylinders, while the other communicates with the other set of cylinders.

Similarly the port 71 cooperates with the passage way 92 which is a part of passage way 85.

The outlet port 72 communicates with a passage way 93. This passage way is walled from the intake passage and lies upon the outside thereof. The passage way 93 con nects with two outlet openmgs, one indi cated at94 and the other indicated at 95. The opening 95 is nearest the exhaust port 7 2 and consequently the shortest passage for the gas is through the exhaust port 95. However, the opening 95 may be closed to a certain extent, so as to divert a portion of the products of combustion through the passage way 93 and to the exhaust opening 95. This will cause a portion of the heated products of combustion to pass in contact with the walls of the intake passage ways 91 and 77; thus in a measure heating the fluid fuel and transferring a ortion of the heat from the hotter part of ti: the walls of the stator which are cooler, thus e walls of the engine to exhaust port 70.

ing 98 will divert a desired amount of the walls of the stator heated products of combustion through the passage way 96, thus imparting heat to the walls of the passage way which conducts a the incoming fuel.

The port 74 communicates with the opening 98 and with a second opening 100 and also communicates with the passage way 96. The products of combustion are thus in part directed through the opening 100 which brings the heated gases in communication with the wall of the intake portion 8%.

Similarly the exhaust port 7 6 communicates with the exhaust opening 95 and with a second exhaust opening 101, as well as with the port 93. The products of combustion passing through the opening 101- will be caused to pass into contact with the walls of the inta (e portion 86. v

At the outer end of each of the pistons there is a packing ring such as illustrated in Fig. 8 and which is shown in its position at 103 in Fig. 7. The packing rin is formed with a top portion and a depen ing flange 104:, this flange being ofl'set slightly from the inner periphery of the rin The top portion 103 is machine d to groove 105 formed in the outer end of the cylinder.

Tn assembling, the ring is placed within the cylinder at the head, and then the top of the cylinder and the top of the ring are machined, so as to fit the inner wall of the stator. Obviously the cylinder and ring can be separatelymachined and subsequent y as- I sembled.

prevent the escape of The particular form of ring has been found to possess great advantage in that it produces a minimum amount of wear upon the stator. In action, the gases within the c linder bear upon the slight ledge between t e flange 104 and the top of the ring and the pressure exerted by the gases upon the ring as thus described will be in an outward direction.

There will bev a layer of oil between the surface of the stator and the outer surface of the ring. Atmospheric pressure acts on this oil fihn and will normally be pressing the ring inwardly. The outer surface of the ring may be so proportioned to that part of the ring which overhangs the depending flange 104 that the atmospheric pressure exerted upon the oil "fihnawill be sufficient to g s from the cylinder.

In the operation 0 the engine the ring becomes heated and the tapered flange ext within a "successively; to befired a pands against the led e of the cylinder upon which it is seated. is helps to counteract rthe outward thrust of the ring against the stator wall, and also assists in-holding the gas from escaping around the ring.

hold the packing ring in what may be termed a floating or balanced condition, at least the ring does not press against the inner wall of the stator with any great amount of friction, and will only produce a minimum The constructionjust explained seems to amount of wear, at the same time preventin anyleakage of gas around the ring.

aving thus describedfiiy invention, what I claim is 2- 1. An internal combustion. engine comprising a stator and a rotor, said rotor being formed with two sets of ports, there being plurality of intake and exhaust in each set, two sets of cylinders carried by the stator, each of said sets of cylinders comprising three cylinders which are spaced angularly a distance of 120 from each other, the cylinders out the two sets being staggered to each other so that the cylinders are placed angularly and are a distance of 60 from each other, piston and piston rods associated with the cylinders, a'crank shaft with which the said cylinders coiiperate, the cylinders cooperating with the said ports, so that each cylinder is fired a plurality of times during a revolution and the cylinders in the two sets fire alternately.

2. An internal combustion engine compris ing a stator and a rotor, the said stator being formed with two sets of ports, each set of ports comprising a plurality ofintake and exhaust orts the ports of each set being staggere with respect to each other, two sets of cylinders carried by the rotor, each set of cylinders comprising three cylinders, which are angularly spaced from each other 120, each cylinder of the two sets being staggered with respect to'each' other so that the cylinders are in-efl"ect an ularl spaced at 60 from each other, a cran shaft having two crank pins, the crank pins being angularly spaced from each other a distance of 60, piston and piston rods of each set of cylinders cooperating with one of the crank pins, each of the cylinders in each set co operating with the intake and exhaust ports during a revolution, the sets firing alternately.

3. Aninternal combustion engine comprising a stator, two sets of cylinders each set of cylinders comprising three cylinders which are angularly spaced from each other 120, the cylinders of the two sets being staggered with respect to each other so that the cylinders are in efl'ect angularly spaced cy lnders in the two a distance of 60 from each other, two setsv of ports formed in the stator, each of said -setsof ports comprising two intake and two plurality of times 1 exhaust ports the intake and exhaust ports being arranged in succession, ignition means arranged between each intake port and exhaust port, the ports in one set being angularly spaced a distance of 30 with respect to the similar ports in the other set, pistons and piston rods associated with the c linders, a crank shaft with which said piston rods cooperate.

4. An internal combustion engine comprising a stator, two sets of cylinders each set of cylinders comprising three cylinders which are angularly spaced from each other 120, the cylinders of the two sets being staggered with respect to each other so that the cylinders are in effect angularly spaced a distance of 60 from each other, two sets of ports formed in the stator, each of said sets of ports comprising two intake and two exhaust ports the intake and exhaust ports being arranged in succession, ignition means arranged between each intake port and exhaust port, the ports in one set being angularly spaced a distance of 30 with respect to the similar orts in the other set, pistons and piston r0 s associated with the cylinders, a crank shaft having a pair of crank pins the said crank pins being angularly displaced with respect to each other a distance of 30, the piston rods of each set cooperating with one of the crank pins.

5. An internal combustion engine comprising a stator and a rotor, the rotor being mountedupon the stator said stator having a cylindrical surface, a plurality of sets of ports formed in the said surface each of said sets comprising two intake and two exhaust ports the intake and exhaust ports being arranged in succession and the ports of one set being angularly displaced a distance of 30 with respect to the ports of the other set, two sets of cylinders carried by the rotor each of said sets of cylinders comprising three cylinders which are angularly spaced apart a distance of 120, the cylinders of the two sets being staggered with respect to each other so that in effect the cylinders of the two sets are angularly spaced apart a dis-' tance of 60, pistons and piston rods associated with each set.0f cylinders, a crank shaft which is mounted in the stator said crank shaft having two crank pins which are angularly spaced apart a distance of 30, the piston rods of each set cooperating with one of the crank pins, and means operatively connecting the crank shaft and the rotor.

6. An internal combustion engine comprising a stator member and a rotor member said stator member being provided with an annular surface, a plurality of exhaust and intake ports arranged in succession upon the said surface, independent exhaust passageways being formed in opposite portions of the stator and independent intake passageways formed in the stator adjacent the exwith the intake passageways for supplying fuel to the intake ports in the stator, exhaust openings formed in the stator communicating with the exhaust passageways formed in the stator, a cylinder. carried by the rotor, the said cylinder cooperating with intake and exhaust passageways in successionduring a single revolution, pistons and piston rods associated with the cylinder, a crank shaft with which the piston rods 00- operate, and gearing connecting the crank shaft and rotor.

7. An internal combustion engine comprising a stator member and a rotor member, the said stator member being provided with an annular surface, a plurality of sets of ports in said stator each of said sets comprising a plurality of intake and exhaust ports arranged in succession, intake passageways formed in the stator, said intake passageways traversing portions of the stator at which the compression firing and expansion of the gas in the cylinders takesoplace, said passageways being oppositely disposed in the stator and communicating with the intake passageways and part of exhaust passageways formed in the stator which passageways are oppositely disposed each exhaust passageway being adjacent an intake passageway the said exhaust passageways communicating with certain of the exhaust ports, exhaust openings formed in the stator certain of the exhaust openings communicating with each of the exhaust passageways, a

plurality of sets of cylinders carried by the stator each set of cylinders comprising a plurality of cylinders which are symmetrically arranged each set of cylinders cooperating with a set of ports, pistons and piston rods cooperating with the cylinders, a crank.

shaft said crank shaft having a plurality of crank pins which are out of alinement with each other the piston rods of each set cooperating with one of the crank pins, and gearing connecting the crank shaft and the stator.

8. An internal combustion engine com tain intake ports of both sets, each of said intake passageways traversing a portion of passageway formed in the stator and c-' o crating with certain exhaust ports of the 0 (1 sets, a plurality of cylinders carried by the rotor each of which said sets comprising a cylinder which .are symmetrically arranged with respect to each other the cylinders of each set being staggered with respect to the cylinders, each set of cylinders cooperating with a set of ports pistons and piston rods associated with the cylinders, a crank shaft,

crank pins, said crank pins being out of alinement with each other, the piston rods of each set cooperating with one of the crank pins, and gearing connecting the crank shaft with the rotor.

9. An. internal combustion engine comprisin a stator member and a rotor member, the said stator member having an annular surface, an oil conducting conduit formed in the stator and extending transversely thereof there being openings from said oil conduit through'to the annular surface of the stator, whereby oil may be supplied to the annular surface of the stator, a second conduit formed in the stator and extending transversely thereof, said conduit being formed at substantially the lower ortion of the stator there being openings from the said conduit to the annular surface of the stator whereb excess 'oil may be collected and conducte from the said annular surface, said rotor comprising an inner member supported uponqthe stator, aplurality "of cylinders the inner ends of which are supported upon the inner member, an annular member which receives and supports the outer end of the cylinders said annular member fitting within the annular surface of the stator, pistons and piston rods associated with the cylinders, a crank shaft with which the said piston rods cooperate, 1

and gearing connecting the crank shaft with the rotor.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto a'flix my signature in the presence of two witnessw. I PHELPS M, FREE'R. Witnesses:

JOHN H. STEIN, Geo. E. GLEDHILL. 

